Light is easy to love, show me your darkness
by OceanAndARock
Summary: "Now Emma Swan is my host and I am getting to know her every thought and desire, to understand her motivations much better than she understands herself." Written from the point of view of the darkness that inhabits The Dark One.


I am the malevolent force that now resides in Emma Swan, the new Dark One. I am biding my time, waiting to make my presence known and then people will truly see just what evils their saviour is capable of.

It is easiest to possess those who seek out the power that comes with being The Dark One and willingly invite me into their soul, but even the most benevolent of person has the capacity for evil. Everyone has dark thoughts and has committed deeds that they'd rather forget.

Many people think they would be strong enough not to succumb to me, but I have delighted in proving them wrong time and time again. If I am residing in you all it takes is a small act of selfishness, one small moment of avoiding the eyes of the heavily pregnant woman on the crowded train who really needs a seat, and I will have my foothold.

I will encourage your self justification for your actions, _Yes, you have had a tough day too and no one else is giving up their seat so why should you. You're right, if she really needed a seat she shouldn't have travelled at rush hour; it's selfish of her to expect someone else to stand._ I cultivate these thoughts and I make you see the benefits of looking out for number one. From then on whenever your subconscious notices other people who profit from putting themselves first I draw it to your attention and gradually you start to see being generous and kind as a weakness. It is then that I can really flourish as I show you how much pleasure is to be had by being bad.

Some people blame me for all that is wrong in the world, but they are foolish and naive. I cannot make evil out of nothing; it has always been present and a part of everyone, all I do help people realise their full potential.

I feed on the negative thoughts and deeds of those I inhabit, and like any parasite I need a live host. I was grateful to that old man, the Apprentice, for setting me free from the dying Rumplestiltskin, enabling me to seek out someone new with whom I could thrive. Oh, I know he didn't intend to release me, but I am far too strong to be trapped by a magical hat.

I had been growing bored with old Rumple anyway. For a while Belle had helped him to believe in himself and fight the dark urges that are my lifeblood, but he was a power hungry coward who soon reverted to his old ways. Lately I hadn't needed to give him any encouragement; any opportunity to gain more power and he would take it, with no care about how it affected others.

When the Apprentice freed me I relished the opportunity I had been given to seek out my own host; having been bound to the dagger for centuries and forced to reside in those who has sought out the darkness, the prospect of looking for a host of my own choosing appealed to me.

I coursed through the town, probing the hearts and minds of the residents as I went, seeking a suitable soul to whom I could attach myself. I toyed with the idea of the pirate; he certainly had the capacity for extreme selfishness, but I ruled him out as he would have been a dull dark one. He didn't have the brains for cunning and I could tell that when the saviour inevitably broke up with him he would use my power for thuggish, drunken violence and that would be tedious.

I also ruled out the forest dweller as being an equally monotonous option. In the end the mayor was the obvious choice. As the queen she had committed countless evil acts, with cunning, flair and witty one-liners. More recently she had overcome the darkness, rediscovered her capacity to love and had made sacrifices for her son and for Emma; but the potential was there for her to revert to her old ways. Playing on her self doubts and her negative emotions and coaxing her evil streak back into dominance could be diverting.

I was satisfied with my choice and was starting to inhabit her when the saviour stepped forward. At first I was incensed that she was trying to supplant my decision and I resisted, but then I sensed both how strongly Regina objected to the saviour's plan and how desperate Emma was to save the mayor and I was enthralled.

The idea of possessing someone who had chosen to be the The Dark One out of an all-encompassing, selfless love, rather than a desire for power and revenge was tantalising, so I allowed her to make her sacrifice. It may have been the saviour's decision but it was also mine and I was going to exploit this new partnership.

So now Emma Swan is my host and I am getting to know her every thought and desire, to understand her motivations much better than she understands herself.

She has a strong desire to do the right thing, but despite being the sheriff Emma is guided by her own sense of morality, rather than any set rules about what is right and wrong. She has the tendency to act on impulse without considering the consequences or thinking about her motivation and that is something I will relish taking advantage of.

I will take great pleasure in using Emma's feelings for Regina to manipulate the former saviour. She has no idea that she is in love with Regina, she has never thought about why she keeps risking so much for the woman, Emma simply does what she does because not to do so would inconceivable. Regina's happiness is desperately important to her and she has never thought to wonder why.

I am delighting in contemplating how best to corrupt her. Maybe I will start with making her aware of her feelings for the woman with whom she shares a child and give her to confidence to act on them. With any luck Regina will dismiss Emma's advances as being purely down to the darkness and reject the blonde, and that might help push her towards the edge.

Or maybe I will make Emma realise that she really doesn't need to be with the pirate just because he makes her feel loved. I will draw her attention to all the ways in which he annoys her and next time he tries to pressure her into something she does not want I will encourage her not to hold back from lashing out.

But I believe the greatest potential lies with Robin Hood. Emma has tolerated him for Regina's sake, but she knows Regina deserves better and wished the woman wasn't convinced that her happy ending lies with him. I have decided that the next time Robin hurts Regina, or messes her about and Emma again thinks how much better Regina would be without him, I will whisper suggestions to her of how she can take Robin out of the picture.

I will keep hinting to Emma that if there is no Robin then Regina will be free to find her own happiness, rather than feeling she owes it to herself to try and make it work with her "soulmate". Without Robin maybe Regina will finally be happy and Regina's happiness is more important to Emma than anything.

Emma may resist at first, but with some subtle pointers and a bit of manipulation I think I will succeed not only in making Emma want to kill Robin, but in making her believe that it is something Regina would be grateful for. On Neverland Regina said she would commit dark acts so Emma didn't have to, it is about time that Emma returned the favour. Starting with the eradication of Robin.


End file.
